New Localized Federal Budget Datasets Released

NPP Pressroom

National Priorities Project's Federal Priorities Database now includes current federal spending numbers available to the state, county, and school district level; database includes mapping function for visualizations

Northampton, MA – Using updated datasets from USASpending.gov – now the only source of federal spending information from the government – National Priorities Project (NPP) has expanded its Federal Priorities Database to localize federal spending data to the state and county levels. The database is a unique resource for telling the story of how the federal budget impacts individuals and communities.

NPP’s database takes raw datasets from USASpending.gov and makes them easily-accessible by federal spending category, expenditure, geography, and social indicator. By including inflation-adjusted and per-capita spending in addition to total spending, the tool also allows for comparisons, illustrating how federal spending in a specific state or county has changed over time, and how it compares to spending around the country. All datasets and searches are downloadable in spreadsheets and are mapped for visualizations.

As one example, the database will map Social Security Disability Insurance benefits by state and county. The resulting map quickly shows that the area where Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky converge receives the highest amount of per-capita disability benefits in the country. In fact, the only two U.S. counties that received more than $2,000 per-capita in 2011 are in Virginia, even though the state’s overall rank is 28th in benefits received.

Additional datasets available in the newly-released Federal Priorities Database include:

“The federal budget is our budget – funded primarily through our tax dollars – and NPP believes all Americans should have access to information about how our taxes are invested back into our communities,” said Becky Sweger, Director of Data and Technology for NPP. “The Federal Priorities Database makes federal budget data local and accessible, helping journalists and others tell the story of how decisions made in Washington D.C. affect each and every one of us.”

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About the National Priorities Project:

National Priorities Project (NPP) is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that makes our complex federal budget transparent and accessible so people can exercise their right and responsibility to influence how their tax dollars are spent. NPP believes the U.S. federal budget will reflect the values and priorities of a majority of Americans when allpeople have the opportunity and ability to participate in shaping our nation's budget.